Note: The opening clip is Jesse Jackson, 1963.
I may be poor, but I am somebody. I may be on welfare, but I am somebody. I may be in jail.
Kellams: Literally no introduction is needed.
Dixon: Absolutely not.
Kellams: Let me give you an introduction.
Dixon: I do, yes, I need an introduction.
Kellams: Randy Dixon is with the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History.
Dixon: Thank you.
Kellams: You're welcome.
Dixon: Man, that just got me pumped up on a Monday. That, of course, was Jesse Jackson. That clip was from 1963. He was reciting a chant that he made famous in the civil rights movement. So today we're going to talk about civil rights leader and LGBTQ+ advocate, presidential candidate, ordained Baptist minister, and of course someone who had a long, long relationship with Arkansas. I think we all know he was a protege of Martin Luther King, one of his earliest aides in the '60s. He was also an early organizer in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He was a crucial founder and developer of PUSH and the Rainbow Coalition in the '60s and '70s. But like I said, Jackson is no stranger to our state, and I remember covering him several times for KATV. But I looked in our archive list, and just between 1960 and 1993, there are 243 news stories in our archive about Jesse Jackson — those are local and national stories, but a lot of them were local. Here's an early one I found from 1974. He is at the pulpit in his ministerial robe, talking at the dedication of the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Little Rock.
[Clip, 1974:]
Religion as a gateway to revolution. Religion is the belief that life makes sense. A man who is truly religious cannot be enslaved, for he respects himself too much. Yes, yes, he will say things like, before I'll be a slave, I'll die and be buried in my grave. The truly religious man — religion is the belief that life makes sense — truly religious man will not commit suicide. He has too much expectation out of life. Truly religious man will not pump dope in his veins, because he cares too much for God's property. Religion is the belief that life makes sense. Religion believes that you solve the fundamental problems from the inside out.
Kellams: That was in 1974. Then a couple of years later, back —
Dixon: Yes, 1976. He was in for a news conference with the Rainbow Coalition and PUSH. And here he's talking about education.
[Clip, 1976:]
If at the voting booth there's chaos, people can't vote, therefore they can't have a democracy. If in the schoolroom people are intimidated by guns and drugs, they do not have an atmosphere in which to study, and therefore they cannot proceed with a public education. And so we must, in our schools, number one, have moral authority. Secondly, we must be taught discipline. Thirdly, we must then learn discipline, and development will be the byproduct. In late years, our school officials have in fact lost control of our schools, in part because many of them have been preoccupied with their own materialistic expansion, but also in part because they no longer control the primary distribution of information to people. It is coming from radio and TV, and that is why their involvement in the success of public education must be reassessed.
Kellams: As you mentioned, he was also a presidential candidate in 1983.
Dixon: You're right. He announced his candidacy for president of the United States. And KATV's coverage here is from Philip Bruce.
[Clip, KATV:]
Jesse Jackson had said a few days earlier that he would run for the Democratic presidential nomination, but today made it official. And in making the announcement, Jackson expressed hope that his candidacy would open doors for Blacks all over the country.
[Jackson:]
Now the time has come — all the way from the statehouse to the courthouse to the White House. Our time has come. God bless you.
[KATV:]
In Little Rock, Jackson's announcement drew mixed reactions. Thedford Collins, an active member of the state Democratic Party, supports Jackson philosophically but doesn't believe he can beat Ronald Reagan.
[Collins:]
There's a much larger goal that we have to all be concerned with — that goal being the defeat of Ronald Reagan as president of this country. I think we need a new president. I'm not sure that Jesse Jackson's running will allow enough time for those wounds to heal.
[KATV:]
Reverend James Demas spent eight years as an aide to Jackson in Chicago, and he disagrees with the notion that Jackson is a non-electable candidate.
[Demas:]
In Chicago, we heard that same kind of rhetoric around Harold Washington — that we could support him philosophically, but we didn't think that he could win. We heard that in Atlanta. We heard that in Los Angeles with Mayor Bradley. And so that kind of rhetoric is to be expected. But I think as the campaign goes on, and as Reverend Jackson addresses the issues, I think that some of those philosophical answers to those questions will become more substantial.
Kellams: So he's seeking the '84 Democratic nomination, eventually obtained by Walter Mondale. But it was a pretty good race.
Dixon: It was. He did come in third behind Gary Hart. One interesting thing I wanted to bring up before we go to this next clip — which is him in Arkansas as a candidate — he did receive a phone call from former Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus, of course a segregationist. He didn't really endorse him, but he did give him an expression of support for Jesse Jackson. Whatever that means. Now, I found that story in the archives and was going to play it today. Unfortunately, on that one archival videotape, there's no audio digitized. So what you have is some men sitting around a table looking at a speaker, and it's Faubus giving his semi-support to Jackson, but we can't hear it. I've got to dig through and hopefully find that original videotape and redigitize it. If so, I'll play it. But I was sick about that. Anyway, here is team coverage from KATV with Tony Gayton and Randy Weber.
[Clip, KATV:]
In that introduction, Gov. Clinton called Jesse Jackson a great American citizen and a long-time friend. Jackson interpreted that as what he called the modified endorsement. That wasn't exactly what Mr. Clinton meant, but he did find it humorous. When the laughter stopped, Jackson got down to business. He wants delegates from the March 17 Democratic Caucus. He has participating in the process, but doesn't like it. In fact, Jackson calls it undemocratic.
[Jackson:]
Of course what makes it so undemocratic is that people who are sick, people who are elderly, people who don't have transportation cannot make it.
[KATV:]
Jackson would rather have open primaries in Arkansas, claiming it would get rid of closed-door politics. From St. John Baptist, Jackson headed to Cross Street Christian Church. His audience this time was a group of farmers — white farmers and a vital part of the so-called Rainbow Coalition.
[Jackson:]
It used to be something special — advantages that you got for being white. But that's over now. Everybody goes to the bathroom now. Everybody goes to the library now. Everybody — those little special goodies, they're gone. Ain't that right? Say amen.
[KATV:]
After the meeting with the farmers, Jackson's next stop was a meeting with ACORN. The crowd was a bit larger and a lot louder.
But while the people were shouting and looking one way, Jackson and the Secret Service slipped in another way. There was a surprise, but the candidate didn't miss any hugs, and his message was the same.
[Jackson:]
Arkansas and the South, yes, will never be the same again. Thank you very much.
[KATV:]
Kellams: The candidates were crisscrossing, and two of them met.
Dixon: Right. It was Gary Hart and Jesse Jackson — on the tarmac of the Little Rock airport. Their planes ended up right next to each other.
[Jackson:]
Because our people can be intimidated, we need ministers to lead your congregations to the caucus and then stay there and watch over your flock. A good shepherd stays with his flock.
[KATV:]
From church, Jackson headed to the airport. He knew the plane in front of his belonged to the Gary Hart campaign, but it appeared Jackson wasn't going to hang around. And when Sen. Hart came, it appeared he too was going to board without speaking, but then changed his mind.
[Hart:]
Hey, how you doing, my friend? You want to trade airplanes?
[Jackson:]
Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do. But I really want to trade these positions.
[KATV:]
Jackson would have gotten the better part of that deal since he was riding in a four-prop plane and Hart had a jet. The two men appeared to be good friends, but Jackson made it clear he had been in Arkansas several times — not Gary Hart.
[Jackson:]
It is his first visit. That's precisely the point. It's not my first visit. I served here for a long time. I planted seeds for change here, and I expect now to pick fruit from trees that I helped to plant.
[KATV:]
So the campaigning in Arkansas is over, at least for now. Jesse Jackson is now headed to South Carolina, to Charleston and Florence, and Gary Hart is on his way to Chicago and Springfield, Illinois.
Dixon: And then Jackson ran third, with the nomination going to Mondale and, of course, his running mate, Geraldine Ferraro.
Kellams: That's right. So Jackson did address the convention — the Democratic National Convention — and gave his famous Rainbow Coalition speech. It was also, notably, the first speech at a national convention to mention gays and lesbians. Jackson went on to endorse the party nominee and even stumped for his former opponent. Here is a 1984 report. He's back in Arkansas, this time in Pine Bluff.
[Clip, 1984:]
The Rev. Jesse Jackson told reporters there are many reasons Arkansans should vote for the Mondale-Ferraro ticket in the state. The impact of Reagan's cutback on aid to women, infants and children has hurt families in the state, and a 25% cutback in public education, 75% cutback in public housing for low- and moderate-income has had a devastating impact upon poor people.
Kellams: That was not the last time he ran for president.
Dixon: No, no. He ran again, and in 1987 he visited Arkansas again. He hadn't announced yet, but there was certainly the national buzz that he would be running. So here's a report from Laurie Johnson. And it's obvious that he's just days away from making it official.
[Clip, 1987:]
Jackson spoke before a crowd of only about 100 people, but they were enthusiastic, particularly about the idea of Jackson running for president, which, in his words, is likely to happen.
[Jackson:]
I'm encouraged by the signs of support that I see. Clearly, we were successful in 1984. It was the right course, and we shall continue that course. At this point, we're very encouraged by the signs, and we certainly are inclined to run.
[Clip:]
Jackson says he came to Arkansas primarily to encourage Black people to get involved in politics.
[Jackson:]
What do we offer? One — increase voter registration. Increase turnout. Increase the number of Democratic officials. Enhance the state power of the locked out, and put the right issues on the agenda.
Kellams: All right, so '88 Democrats nominate Michael Dukakis.
Dixon: And it was really close. Well, 70-30. But I mean, it was up against those two — Dukakis and Jackson.
Kellams: What's next?
Dixon: Well, that would be the Bill Clinton presidential election. And Jesse Jackson was very involved in not only the election, but the presidency. Bill Clinton and Jesse Jackson met in the mid-'70s and maintained — I guess you could call it a complicated relationship after that. They were always colleagues and friends. They occasionally had their differences. So by 1991, there was again presidential buzz about Jackson running in '92. So in October of '91, Jackson's campaign requested a meeting with Gov. Bill Clinton at the governor's mansion. Here's Regina Blakely.
[Clip:]
Both presidential contenders emerged from the governor's mansion shaking hands, sounding like presidential candidates, saying they spent the hour and a half behind closed doors talking about national issues such as education, poverty and affirmative action. This meeting was held at Jackson's request — the reverend having already met with Jerry Brown of California and Douglas Wilder of Virginia. Jackson said he has not yet made up his mind as to whether he will seek the Democratic nomination, but that he is encouraged by his past two performances. And he says he wants to make sure that those who do run have a clear idea as to what his agenda is.
[Jackson:]
It was important, I thought, today, during this season, that Gov. Clinton and I meet. Indeed, Gov. Wilder and I met last Saturday. We're going to meet with the other prospective candidates to talk about substance and direction of the country, the need to put forth a human needs agenda.
Kellams: OK, so October '91 — Bill Clinton is not too far away from being an official candidate. I checked the dates, and that took place two days before Clinton announced.
Dixon: You know, that's what they were talking about. And Jackson must have liked what he heard, because he didn't run.
Kellams: Jackson didn't. And he fully supported Clinton on the campaign trail.
[Clip:]
A somewhat restless crowd came to life when Rev. Jackson entered the room. It was standing room only, with folks even spilling out into the hallways, hoping to get a glimpse of the Democrat and hear the message he's spreading across the country.
[Jackson:]
I challenge you to strike a blow to heal and rebuild America.
[Clip:]
Arkansas is one of 32 states Jackson has visited so far this campaign, and his cry is always the same. He talked about health care and the economy. He promoted Bill Clinton as the man for change and said President Bush is out of touch.
[Jackson:]
In St. Louis, he said, focus on those who have a job. A young lady asked the question differently in Richmond. She said, but how does this deficit thing affect you? He said, I don't get the question. You don't get the question, you sure can't get the answer.
Dixon: Jackson continued to be relevant, even after that, in politics and human rights. I think we could do an entire segment just on his international activism, but also in popular culture. He stayed relevant. So in 1991, when Dr. Seuss died, Saturday Night Live wanted to do a tribute. In a brilliant move — and showing that Jackson is a great sport — he appeared on Weekend Update to read "Green Eggs and Ham" a la "I Am Somebody."
[Clip:]
I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam I am. I could not, would not own a boat. I will not, will not with a goat. I will not eat them in the rain. I will not eat them on a train. Not in the dock, not in a tree, not in a car — you let me be.
Dixon: Now, on a serious note, Jackson remained a political adviser to President Clinton during his administration, and especially stepped in as a spiritual adviser during his scandal that caused his impeachment. So in 2000, I wanted to play this clip of President Clinton presenting Jackson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
[Clinton:]
The truth is, America has followed Reverend Jackson as he marched with Dr. King, walked the picket lines, ran for our nation's highest office, instilling hope and inspiring millions, beginning with his own remarkable family. From the streets of Watts to the hollows of Appalachia, as my special envoy to Africa and the leader of Rainbow PUSH, he has walked the walk of freedom. Dr. King said human progress never rolls on the wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts of those willing to be co-workers with God. The cause of justice has no greater co-worker than Jesse Jackson. It's hard to imagine how we could have come as far as we have without the creative power, the keen intellect, the loving heart and the relentless passion of Jesse Louis Jackson.
Kellams: And I think we'll just close with this. But I'll first say that this is Randy Dixon with the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History. Go to the Pryor Center online and just spend a weekend.
Dixon: It's a lot of fun.
Kellams: But this, to me personally, is the most memorable part of Jesse Jackson's life.
Dixon: I think this is what he will always be remembered for. It was the 1988 Democratic National Convention, and he gave this speech, which is now called "Keep Hope Alive."
[Jackson, 1988 Democratic National Convention:]
I was born in the slum, but the slum was not born in me. And it wasn't born in you. And you can make it wherever you are tonight. You can make it. Hold your head high. Stick your chest out. You can make it. It gets dark sometimes, but the morning comes. Don't you surrender. Suffering breeds character. Character breeds faith. In the end, faith will not disappoint. You must not surrender. You may or may not get there, but just know that you are qualified. And you hold on and hold out. We must never surrender. America will get better and better. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive. On tomorrow night and beyond, keep hope alive. I love you very much.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline and edited for length and clarity. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
